The “Chork” is here! And it puts and end to the East/West culinary conflict.

The “Chork” is here! And it puts and end to the East/West culinary conflict.

That may be stretching things a bit, but this new kid on the utensil block is certainly proving a hit with diners.

The Chork is a cross between the fork and chopstick and has been designed to keep users of both equally happy, but with less clutter on the table.

It’s hoped, also, that much like stabiliser wheels on a bike help learners to ride, it’ll help chopstick novices to practise the notoriously tricky art of eating with sticks.

The makers, Salt Lake City-based Brown Innovation Group, say: ‘The Chork can be used as a standard fork for those that desire the precision and effectiveness the fork provides. Just grab the two sticks and hold it like a fork!

‘For those who want to venture out of their comfort zone and try something new. Use the sticks while adjoined together to practice with the trainer function of the chork. You will be a pro before you know it!’

Experts, meanwhile, simply snap the sticks apart for the full chopstick experience.

Various testimonials on the Chork website give the invention the thumbs up.

One says: ‘That’s great, now my husband can use chopsticks with me and still be able to poke at the hard to pickup scraps.’ Another writes: ‘Yay! I don’t have to fumble with chopsticks or ask for a fork!’

Silla Bjerrum, MD of the Feng Sushi group of Japanese restaurants, agreed that the Chork is a winner.

She told MailOnline: ‘It’s brilliant! This would be perfect for our Feng picnic box, great fun and perfect to eat both salads and sushi with. Perhaps the next step could be to make them with bio-degradable products?’

However, Gizmodo writer Casey Chan goes even further with her praise, claiming that ‘the chork, instead of pandas, could be used to maintain US/China relations’.